Bullied 9-year-old Alamosa student fights back

In the San Luis Valley, the Alamosa School District is approaching the problem in a unique way. The district has adopted a plan created by a 9-year-old student.

"It actually surprised me a lot," Jon Griffin, the student's father, said.
Not too long ago Jon Griffin's daughter Isabella told him about some mean girls at school who were bullying her.

"They were picking on me because of my clothes and how they looked," Isabella Griffin said.

Isabella went on to tell her father about the special needs kid in her class who was also getting bullied. Except, she said, he was getting it worse.

"A lot of kids think that's weird about him and they bully him over it," she explained.

And then she told her father this:

"I stood up for myself and I'd like to stand up for others," Isabella said.

Isabella came up with a plan called "Be a buddy, not a bully," which asks students to sign a pledge against bullying. When they do, they're given a bracelet to wear around school to show their support.

"It entitles the kids to actually step in," her father said.

The idea was so successful the Alamosa School District implemented it through all of its K-5 schools.

"If not for the likes of our students, along the lines of Isabella Griffin, we'd have our hands full," Alamosa School District Superintendent Robert Alejo said.

"This could be a model for other schools to use," John Griffin said.

In fact, there's word the Monte Vista School District might look at the plan also.

More than a thousand students in Alamosa are expected to sign Isabella's pledge in early December.